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4th August Independent ORGANIC
FOOD BECOMES LATEST CASUALTY OF THE CREDIT CRUNCH
Dairy farmers are turning their backs on Britain's organic
milk market as economic pessimism dents consumers' previously
buoyant demand for organic produce. The organic goods
market at large is being "credit crunched",
particularly among new products like organic ready meals
and home-delivery vegetable boxes. Figures show there
has been a dramatic reversal in the numbers of dairy
farmers converting to organic farming from conventional
methods.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/organic-food-becomes-latest-casualty-of-the--credit-crunch-884237.html
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4th
August Independent APPLICATION FRAUD BY BORROWERS JUMPS
The number of people committing fraud by lying on application
forms for loans, credit cards and insurance products jumped
in the first half of the year, as consumers turned to
desperate measures to get their hands on new credit. According
to CIFAS, the fraud prevention agency, the number of discovered
cases of so-called "application fraud" during
the first six months of the year increased by more than
12% since the end of 2007. CIFAS said the most common
lie was a failure to disclose a previous address where
the applicant had built up a bad credit record. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/application-fraud-by-borrowers-jumps-884335.html
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4th
August Guardian POOREST TARGETED WITH ENERGY-SAVING SCHEMES
Ministers are examining a raft of green energy measures,
including bringing forward a £2.75 billion home
insulation programme funded by energy companies, to protect
Britain's poorest from the impact of rising gas and electricity
prices. They are looking at the idea of front-loading
a scheme known as the carbon emissions reduction target
(Cert) so that more money is spent sooner by energy companies,
with a greater proportion of the funding going to the
fuel-poor.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/aug/04/energy.householdbills?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront |
4th August Financial Times US MOVES TO TACKLE INSIDER
TRADING
A new system to overhaul insider trading investigations
is due to be agreed in the latest response from US regulators
to growing concerns about the extent of illegal activity
on global markets. The plan, which has been the subject
of negotiations for more than a year, is likely to be
submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission
for approval as early as this week. While the SEC will
remain the main markets watchdog, the new system would
reform the way stock exchanges, often the first lines
of defence against illegal activity, handle cases they
refer to the SEC. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eccfaf56-61bb-11dd-af94-000077b07658.html
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4th
August Guardian DIGITAL SWITCHOVER SCHEME IS 'STRESSFUL,
CONFUSING AND UNFAIR'
Manufacturers and consumer groups have criticised a government
scheme designed to help elderly and vulnerable viewers
switch to digital television for sowing confusion and
helping BSkyB market its pay-TV services. The coalition
- including IT companies, telecoms groups and TV equipment
suppliers - also claimed Sky's set-top boxes were less
energy-efficient than rival devices, and complained that
the company was being allowed to offset this by handing
out low-energy light bulbs.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/aug/04/digitaltvradio.television?gusrc=rss&feed=media |
4th August Telegraph
HALF OF BANKERS FACE ZERO PAYOUT AS BONUS POOLS DRY UP
City banks are preparing to cut bonus pools by 30% to
50% on last year, as the industry nears the first anniversary
of the credit crisis. Banks are preparing for preliminary
bonus pools to be down by as much as 50%, according to
industry recruiters and bankers. A swath of bankers -
some say up to half - will also face the "zero"
pay-out, where they miss out on any bonus for the year.
The figures could change if there are, as expected, further
redundancy rounds but end-of-year payouts are already
the subject of speculation at Canary Wharf. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/08/04/cnbonus104.xml |
5th August Reuters INTERNET
COMPANIES AGREE ON CHINA CODE OF CONDUCT
U.S. technology giants Microsoft Corp, Google Inc and
Yahoo Inc, in talks with other Internet companies and
human-rights groups, have reached an agreement on a voluntary
code of conduct for activities in China and other restrictive
countries.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSBNG13395520080805 |
5th August Guardian
POINTLESS PRINTOUTS LAY WASTE TO PROFIT
British office workers waste up to 120 billion pieces
of paper every year, costing businesses as much as 10%
of their turnover, according to Envirowise, a government-funded
programme that offers advice on sustainability to businesses.
The organisation has identified five types of print junkie,
including "old school" printers who feel they
cannot deal with email requests without printing a hard
copy, and "competitive" printers who believe
the more paper they have on their desks the more important
they look. "Trigger happy" staff who fail to
check the number of pages in lengthy documents contribute
to the failure of the "paperless office" dream.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/05/waste.greenbusiness |
5th August Personnel
Today EMPLOYEES LOSE CONFIDENCE IN JOB SECURITY
Workers are rapidly losing confidence in the security
of their jobs, research has revealed. A survey of 2,000
adults by bank Lloyds TSB showed that more than a quarter
believed their job was less safe than a year ago. Just
one in 10 said their job had become more secure.
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/08/04/46978/employees-lose-confidence-in-job-security.html |
5th August Financial
Times TORIES PRAISE EXECUTIVE BONUS MODEL
The Tories yesterday praised John Lewis-style curbs on
executive rewards as a way of tackling the increasing
gap between rich and poor, in another incursion by David
Cameron into classic Labour territory.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3fc3b454-6285-11dd-9a1e-000077b07658.html
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5th August Times TAKEOVER
PANEL FORCES CENTRICA TO STATE INTENT OVER BRITISH ENERGY
The Takeover Panel has intervened in the row over the
future of British Energy, forcing Centrica to issue a
statement clarifying its position over a possible £22
billion merger with the nuclear generator.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article4460834.ece |
5th August Guardian
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES CRACKDOWN ON ROGUE EMPLOYERS
The government today announced a new crackdown on rogue
employers who abused vulnerable workers, aimed at cleaning
up the "dark corners" of the labour market.
An information campaign will be launched to raise awareness
of employment rights, and workers will be able to call
a special helpline to report mistreatment or illegal pay
rates. Unions welcomed the move, but expressed disappointment
that coverage of the Gangmasters' Licensing Authority
was not being extended to sectors such as construction,
care and hospitality.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/aug/05/tradeunions |
6th August Business
Green HOW CAN YOU TRUST YOUR CSR REPORT?
Only a quarter of the 3,000 companies expected to publish
a CSR report this year will include a third-party assurance
statement addressing the report's credibility and completeness.
While growing numbers of firms are producing CSR reports,
relatively few are treating them in the same way as annual
reports and employing third-party bodies to verify their
accuracy.
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2223277/trust-csr-report
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6th August Guardian
DRAX PROFITS HALVE AS IT PAYS PRICE FOR SOARING COST OF
CARBON CREDITS
Drax has seen its profits plunge by almost half as it
pays the price for running the UK's biggest single carbon
polluting power station in an era of rising CO2 prices.
Last year Drax, the owner of the 4,000 megawatt (MW) coal-fired
plant in North Yorkshire, which supplies about 7% of the
country's electricity, spent £11 million buying
CO2 emission allowances to cover its carbon pollution.
But the company has already spent £107 million this
year under a second phase of the European emissions trading
scheme (ETS) when its allocation was reduced. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/06/draxgroupbusiness.energy
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6th August China CSR
ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR GREEN COMMUTING IN
BEIJING
Sixteen environmental organizations including Friends
of Nature, Global Village of Beijing, China Environmental
Protection Foundation, and Green Home in Beijing, have
made a joint proposal to citizens and environmental volunteers
for a car-free day on August 8, 2008, the day on which
the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics will be held.
http://www.chinacsr.com/2008/08/06/2707-environmental-organizations-call-for-green-commuting-in-beijing/
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6th August Greenbiz
GREEN ALLURE FOR COLLEGE GRADS
A new poll suggests that today's college students are
hoping for a job after school with a green-minded company.
Experience Inc. surveyed nearly 2,500 students and recent
grads in the US whom overwhelmingly expressed concern
about climate change. 81% saw significance in working
for an environmentally aware company, and 79% would probably
accept a job at an eco-friendly company over a conventional
one.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/06/green-allure-college-grads |
6th August Guardian
CAMBRIDGE SURVEY SHOWS NEW DOUBTS OVER WORKING MOTHERS
Support for gender equality appears to be declining across
Britain and America amid concern that women who play a
full role in the workforce do so at the expense of family
life, research from Cambridge University suggests today.
It found both women and men are becoming more likely to
believe the family will suffer if a woman works full-time.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/aug/06/equality.gender |
6th August Financial
Times PROPOSAL ENVISAGES US-SCALE DAMAGES CLAIMS
Companies would for the first time face the prospect of
huge US-style consumer damages claims if radical plans
floated yesterday are adopted by the -government. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7ee9cd6a-634f-11dd-9fd0-0000779fd2ac.html |
6th August Financial
Times PLAN TO CAP RED TAPE COSTS FOR 3 YEARS
Business will be promised three years without any overall
rise in the costs of red tape as part of a radical plan
to curb Whitehall's ability to regulate. The scheme is
to be announced by ministers today. Measures to tackle
climate change - a potentially very significant cause
of extra costs for companies - will be excluded from the
plan, under the proposals put out for consultation until
November.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/34def6ce-634e-11dd-9fd0-0000779fd2ac.html |
7th August Guardian
WARNING: TOXIC DEBT CAN DAMAGE YOUR WEALTH
A panel of top Wall Street bankers has recommended cigarette-style
health warnings on complex financial instruments and suggests
that ill-considered bonus packages may be encouraging
financiers to take excessive risks. In a 176-page report
on the credit crunch, an industry-wide group of senior
executives has called for a package of changes to disclosure,
governance and stress-testing at banks, along with restrictions
on the sale of potentially toxic derivatives. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/07/useconomy.creditcrunch?gusrc=rss&feed=business |
7th August Guardian
FORMER BA BOSSES FACE PRICE-FIXING CHARGES
The Office of Fair Trading is preparing to press price-fixing
charges against four former and current British Airways
executives. It is understood that individual charges will
be brought against Andrew Crawley, BA's head of sales,
former marketing director Martin George, the ex-communications
head Iain Burns and Alan Burnett, who once ran UK and
Ireland sales for the airline. The men were on the list
of 10 former and current BA executives identified by the
US government as being liable to possible extradition
and prosecution over a scandal that has already cost BA
£270 million in fines.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/07/britishairwaysbusiness.theairlineindustry?gusrc=rss&feed=business |
7th August Grocer FRANCE
WEIGHS UP JUNK FOOD 'FAT TAX'
Regulators in France are planning to raise tax on high-fat
food in a bid to combat rising obesity levels, according
to press reports. The proposed changes would see tax on
foods with very high fat, salt or sugar content lifted
from 5.5% to nearly 20%. The additional cash raised would
be spent on public healthcare. http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/grt_article.aspx?articleid=112770 |
7th August Financial
Times CLASH ERUPTS ON USE OF AIRLINE DATA TO FIGHT CRIME
Britain is at loggerheads with the rest of the European
Union over plans to restrict the use of airline passenger
lists for the prevention of serious crimes. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/14152182-6418-11dd-844f-0000779fd18c.html
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7th August Financial
Times WATCHDOG HITS AT RAIL CARRIAGE COSTS
Train companies funded by the taxpayer are likely to be
paying too much for carriages because the market is uncompetitive,
a watchdog will say today, sparking debate over whether
the problem is inflating passenger fares.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c2e2aa96-6417-11dd-844f-0000779fd18c.html
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7th August Mail 60%
OF LONG-TERM BENEFITS CLAIMANTS 'COULD GO BACK TO WORK',
ADMITS MINISTER
Six out of ten sickness benefits claimants could go back
to work, official research found yesterday.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1042141/60-long-term-benefits-claimants-work-admits-minister.html |
7th August Third Sector
CREDIT CRUNCH BOOSTS INVESTMENT IN SOCIAL BANKS
Social banks should benefit from the credit crunch by
using their "bullet-proof balance sheets" to
attract new depositors, a charity finance expert has said.
Richard Maitland, head of charities at investment house
Sarasin & Partners, said ethically responsible banks
that had not borrowed money to lend to others or suffered
any losses from bad investments, were in much better shape
than commercial high-street lenders. http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/Channels/Finance/Article/836800/Credit-crunch-boosts-investment-social-banks/
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7th August Personnel
Today THE ROUTE REVEALS WOMEN STILL APPEAR TO BE EARNING
LESS THAN MEN
Differences in pay between men and women are still alive
and well in the City with wealthy women earning an average
of 37% less than their high earning male counterparts.
These new figures from The Route City wealth club show
that men earn significantly higher average salaries (£445,000)
than women (£281,000).
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/08/07/47006/the-route-reveals-women-still-appear-to-be-earning-less-than-men.html
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8th August Guardian
DIAGEO ORDERS SCOTCH AND BIOFUEL COCKTAIL
Diageo, the market leader in scotch whisky, is to spend
£65 million on a bio-energy plant at its largest
distillery in a move that will turn 90,000 tonnes of "spent
wash" from the production process into steam and
electrical power. The drinks group, which makes Johnnie
Walker, Bell's and J&B, believes the facility at its
Cameronbridge distillery in Fife will be the largest single
investment in renewable technology by a non-utility company
in the UK. It says the plant will generate 6.5 megawatts
of electrical power and 20MW of thermal power, which is
enough to heat 12,000 homes. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/08/diageo.energy |
8th August Financial
Times PUTTING THE PRIVATE SECTOR ON PARADE
If money is power, the £160bn ($310bn) the government
spends annually on buying goods and services from the
private sector should give it more than enough clout to
impose its values and priorities on suppliers. But the
array of differing - and often conflicting - objectives
the government has set for public sector procurement is
provoking tensions within Whitehall and worrying business.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d7abf7ea-64d3-11dd-af61-0000779fd18c.html |
8th August Guardian
MIS-SELLING OF 'SAFE' SECURITIES LANDS CITIGROUP WITH
$7.3 BILLION BILL
Citigroup faces a bill of $7.3 billion (£3.6 billion)
to settle charges that it misled 40,000 customers into
buying "safe" devices known as auction-rate
securities, which became almost impossible to sell when
the market for them abruptly seized up this year. The
US Securities and Exchange Commission and New York's attorney
general, Andrew Cuomo, yesterday announced that Citigroup
had agreed to pay $100 million in penalties over the mis-selling
scandal. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/08/citigroup.useconomy
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8th August Guardian
NASTY SURPRISE FOR CHILDREN AS GERMANS PLAN KINDER EGG
BAN
German politicians have been accused of robbing youngsters
of one of the small joys of childhood after announcing
plans to ban the Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs, on the
grounds that they are a safety hazard. The children's
committee of the German parliament, which is responsible
for introducing legislation, fears children might mistake
the toys contained in the eggs for food and swallow them.
Critics have also said that mixing toys and food is not
helpful when trying to teach children the value of good
nutrition.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/08/germany.foodanddrink |
8th August Financial
Times CALL FOR MINIMUM WAGE FOR TRAINEES
Trade unions are calling on ministers to introduce a new
minimum wage for apprentices, who can be paid as little
as £1.50 ($2.91) an hour under the existing rules.The
call will be resisted by business leaders as an additional
burden on companies at a time when many cannot afford
to increase their payrolls. But the Trades Union Congress
on Thursday said it was unfair that 70 per cent of apprentices
were not covered by the minimum wage. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d39ca58c-64d3-11dd-af61-0000779fd18c.html |
8th August Times ENERGY
SUPPLIERS SET TO STOKE ANGER WITH PRICE RISES
Energy companies are set to impose another round of punishing
price increases on consumers, despite a steep slide in
the wholesale price of gas. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article4481276.ece |
9th August Guardian
BANK BOARDROOMS: 'CURIOUS' BANK BALANCE SHEET: PROFITS
LOST, £13BN; BOSSES' JOBS LOST, ZERO
More than £13bn has been wiped off the profits of
the UK's major banks in the year since the credit crunch
began. But, in contrast to the US, none of their executives
have paid the price.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/09/banking.creditcrunch
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9th August Guardian
SECURITIES SCANDAL: UBS TO PAY OUT $19BN IN DEAL WITH
REGULATORS
UBS is to pay fines and reimburse customers to the tune
of nearly $19bn (£10bn) to compensate for the alleged
mis-sale of auction-rate securities. In a deal being finalised
last night, the Swiss bank was set to follow Citigroup
in settling charges by US regulators that auction-rate
securities were inappropriately pushed on unsuspecting
customers for months before the market for them seized
up in February. It is expected to pay $150m in fines.
Merrill Lynch has also offered to buy back securities
although it wants to take a full year to reimburse $12bn.
Wachovia Securities and the Bank of New York Mellon are
among other companies caught up in the affair.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/09/ubs.scamsandfraud |
10th August Observer
REGULATOR WILL CALL FOR BAA TO BE BROKEN UP
The Competition Commission is set to recommend the break-up
of the airports group BAA this month. This would force
the company to sell at least one of its facilities - most
likely Gatwick - for up to £2bn. Airlines such as
Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic have been pushing for a break-up
of BAA. They complain that it operates a monopoly in the
south east of England, and in Edinburgh and Glasgow, resulting
in poor service and unfair charges. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/10/baa.regulators |
10th August Sunday Times
BAE IN NEW £20BN SAUDI ARMS DEAL
BAE Systems is in talks to sell dozens more Eurofighter
Typhoon aircraft to Saudi Arabia in a deal that will reawaken
bribery allegations made over earlier arms sales to the
Gulf kingdom. Senior defence-industry sources said last
week the negotiations, which have been under way for some
months, have been given added impetus by a controversial
House of Lords decision last month. The Lords said the
Serious Fraud Office had been right to suspend a probe
into alleged bribery, reversing an earlier Court of Appeal
decision.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article4493237.ece |
10th August Sunday
Times WEDDING LIST FIRM WRAPIT INVESTIGATED BY ADMINISTRATORS
ADMINISTRATORS for the failed wedding-list company Wrapit
are investigating whether the group was trading insolvently
before it went under last week. KPMG, the accountancy
firm carrying out the administration, will determine the
group's liquidity position in its investigation. Details
will be sent to creditors within eight weeks. It is against
the law for a company to trade while it is insolvent,
and directors can be held personally liable for debts
if they are found to be in breach of this.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article4493241.ece
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